All This Time
by LetThemEatLlamas
Summary: A collection of various oneshots of Cody and Bailey throughout their lives. Chapter 8: Cody and Bailey have a talk with their youngest daughter about the logic of believing in Santa Claus.
1. Senseless

**All This Time: A Collection of Cody and Bailey Oneshots**

**Disclaimer:** I'm a 15 year old girl writing fanfiction with her free time... Do you really think I own the Suite Life series and all it's amazing characters? The answer is (sadly) no.

**A/N (EDIT):** All these oneshots will take place in the canon universe: Meaning not AUs or anything like that. Also no songfics. It will show various points in their lives; though not in chronological order. I have no updating schedule for this collection since I'm just expecting it to go on until I get bored or it gets to big... but I'll try not to leave this dormant for months.

* * *

**Senseless**

The newborn couple walked hand and hand down the deserted street in a comfortable silence after the blaring concert. It had only been a few hours since they had shared their feelings with one another, and they were still in partial shock over the event.

They were together. Actually together. Both were wondering to themselves if it was all just a sweet dream, and if they would wake up to a bitter reality.

Because now that they were finally a couple, it seemed like the lives they were living before were just... dull in comparison.

Bailey was woken from her thoughts first at the realization that her hand felt really sweaty. She freed herself of Cody's grip to wipe her hand on her floral dress.

Her absence caused Cody to be shaken from his daydream. He looked down at his hand, and couldn't help but think about how much better it looked with her's in it. "Is something wrong?" he asked nervously.

"Oh," she quickly regained his hand. "No, nothing is wrong. It's just," she paused a little. "your hand is sort of sweaty..." She gave a awkward smile as his face started to turn red out of embarrassment.

"Oh! I'm sorry Bailey! That's really nasty, we can stop holding hands if you want." He rambled off rather rapidly, dropping Bailey's hand by the end of the statement.

Bailey could only laugh at his shyness over their new relationship. "Don't be silly!" She took his hand once again. "I would hold your hand any day! Even if they are sweaty." She smiled as she leaned in to kiss his smooth cheek.

He tried to be cool, but his blush gave him away once again. "You can do that any day too."

Bailey was clearly better at these things though. She leaned in, brushing her lips against his ear as she spoke. "Oh, I plan on it." She swore she could feel him tremble at her closeness.

So, she kissed him.

It wasn't like their first kiss: quick, simple, chaste. This one, their second, was filled with passion and life; like they had been living their entire lives in exchange for this one moment.

For Cody this was partically the truth. He had been waiting since the moment he had discovered in the hot tub that Bailey Pickett was a girl to kiss her like this.

Being that he was a man of science, he was a skeptic about many things, love at first sight was one of many. This was before he met Bailey though. This was before he truly understood what it was like to be in love.

His entire long list of skepticisms might as well of burned up that day though... along with all of his logic, because that's what love was: Senseless.

"I love you." He whispered breathless against her lips, as they finally came up for air.

Cody Martin was senseless.

She breathed peacefully for a second or so, she had been entranced by his beautiful blue eyes since they had broken apart, but as soon as she processed the words she pulled her arms from his neck, and took a giant step back.

Her eyes sparked with fear as she looked upon him as if he were a stranger. "What did you just say?" She words escaped her lips as nothing more than a whisper.

Bailey Pickett was logical.

Cody's mouth was agape, just now processing his actions himself.

"You love me?" Her voice unsteady, she was clearly not trying to hide her fear. "Cody, we only started dating five hours ago! How could you possibly love me?"

He ruffled his hair in frustration. No, no, no! Why did he say that! He had kept it From everyone, even his own brother, for so long! How could he let it slip! How foolish! He was a fool!

"I..." He started, unsure of how to respond to all this. So he just spoke the truth. "I guess it isn't sudden for me. I fell in love with you the first time I saw you." He let out a breath he had unknowingly been holding for so long.

However, the confession had the exact opposite affect on Bailey, who was rendered hopelessly breathless. "L-love... At first sight? Cody..." she started slowly, cautiously inching closer to him, filling the few footed gap she had instated earlier. "You don't really believe that do you?"

"I didn't until it happened..." He mumbled to the ground. "Look Bailey, I didn't mean to say that. I know you must be really surprised, and I would be too, but it just slipped out. I'm really sorry." He looked back up, into her eyes, bracing himself for the worst. He couldn't understand how any girl would want to date even the most heavenly of guys if he told her he loved her on the first date.

She stood there for a while with a perplexed look on her face, trying to reason with her inner self before she relaxed, and she raised her hand to caress the side of his face, speaking kindly. "Don't ever be sorry for what you believe in." she paused, gulping a bit. "Even if others don't share your beliefs." She ended with a sad smile, as he covered her hand with his.

They stood together in the darkness like this for a minute, afraid to shatter the moment, but it eventually was by a small question. "So does this mean you want to breakup?" Cody asked wearily.

Bailey gave her response by leaning quickly in to peck his lips. They pulled back with the biggest smiles spread across their teenage faces. "Just because I don't love you now doesn't mean I couldn't one day."

And she was right.

One day Bailey Pickett realized she was just as senseless as Cody Martin.

* * *

**_"_**_Just please don't say you love me, because i might not say it back,_**  
**_Doesn't mean my heart stops skipping when you look at me like that,_**  
**_There's no need to worry when you see just where we're at,_**  
**_Just please don't say you love me, cause i might not say it back"_**  
**_~Don't Say You Love Me, Gabrielle Aplin_

**A/N:** Just something short, and really fluffy for everyone! Hope you enjoyed!


	2. Let's Just Get To Dancing

**A/N:** Another oneshot for you :) I wanted to write them dancing, but then it got all deeper meaning and stuff. Takes place anywhere from the beginning of their relationship to late twenties: AKA pre-marriage.

* * *

**Let's Just Get To Dancing**

"Would you like to dance?"

"Not really."

"But... you love dancing."

She shrugged, continuing to gaze upon the swirling blurs of party dresses. Gold, red, blue, white, and everything else. It was a rainbow unlike any other in more ways than one.

A moment that could only be cherished for a short time before the colors faded into the rainy sky.

"I want to watch instead." She looked quickly to him, long enough to see the puzzled look.

"Since when are you a wallflower?" he scoffed at her. She never was a wallflower, the exact opposite in fact, but just watching was magical enough at the moment.

The dancing almost made her dizzy, she must of looked insane with her eyes darting all over in attempts to follow the figures. She was afraid she would miss it otherwise.

"Cody?" She tore her eyes painfully away from the masterpiece to look firmly upon him. "Don't you think that even though we do so much, we are still missing out?"

He furrowed his eyebrows before taking a seat next to her at the table. "Is this about all of my routines? I know they waste time, but-"

"No, no." She looked back at the party. Luckily the beauty wasn't gone. "Nothing like that. It's just... We are so set on everything, and while we are trying to get it all accomplished it sort of seems like we miss out on the little things."

Cody looked out onto the floor watching couples spin around in dances of love. Why was his girlfriend picking this moment to be analytical about life? Why couldn't they just get to the dancing?

He puffed out, getting tired of all this. "That's why they are called the little things, because they are insignificant to the big ones."

The dancers were dwindling like a math equation, leaving the floor to rest. It was almost over, and Bailey had seen the entire thing.

"They are not!" She took a few small looks back to him. "The small things are what make up the big ones." She stood up, brushing her clean hands on her silky blue cocktail dress.

He followed her lead. "True, but still, people only really care about the big things."

She laughed as if he had just told her the sky was purple. "Cody, That's like saying people only care about the end when the journey is the best part."

He didn't know what to make of this. The end was the end, it was a goal to be accomplished often through blood, sweat, and tears... Why would the journey be the best part.

"Anyways," She broke him anyway sweetly from his thoughts. "Would you like to dance?"

His eyes widened. "I just asked you that two minutes ago!"

"So I'm not allowed to change my mind?" She asked, sneaking a peek at the deadened floor. The vibrant dresses and strategic dances abandoned the room, for it wad getting late, and everyone was growing tired. The rainbow had faded, and the beauty was gone. That moment was over, but it was time to create a new one.

He wanted to say no, but the pure fact that a dance was what he had begged for all along made him break. "Yes, you are."

"Hmm..." She hummed with a smile as she lead him on the lonely floor. "It seems like you are more of a go with the flow guy than I thought." She joked, before wrapping her arms around his neck. He instinctively placed his hands at her waist.

"Right..." They rocked back, and forth together. He had expected a much more formal dance, one that would sweep her off her feet, and into his arms. However, after a few minutes of this, when she inched closer, and laid her head on his chest, he felt so at peace.

It was so unexpected that such a simple moment could have such an effect.

"Bailey?" He tilted his head down to bury himself in her strawberry scented hair. He kissed the top of her head, and although he couldn't see it, he could hear the smile on her face when she hummed a reply. "I think I get what you mean about journeys now..."

"You do?" She smiled sweetly up to him.

He immediately smiled back to her. "Yea, and you make my journey worthwile."

* * *

_"She acts like summer and walks like rain,_  
_Reminds me that there's time to change"_  
_~Drops of Jupiter, Train_


	3. Selfish

**A/N: **Takes place when they are in their early twenties. Really drabbley. I just wanted to write something random.

* * *

**Selfish**

There was nothing in the world Cody loved more to do than watch Bailey sleep. Well maybe he liked kissing her more and doing other things, but watching her sleep was definitely high up on the list.

A few years ago he would have never thought that such a passive activity would be one of his favorite things about being in love. In fact he probably would of thought the idea of just staring at her as she slept like a peaceful angel would be classified as borderline stupidity. He could get up and make her breakfast, or do something productive around the apartment like he tried to do most days, but some mornings he just couldn't resist giving into his selfishness.

After years of rising at dawn on the farm Bailey slowly began sleeping in later and later. At first she had tried to deny it, taking pride in always being an early riser, but she too had eventually given into her own selfish desires, and began sleeping in late on the weekends.

So they could be selfish. Selfish together.

Cody brushed a few strands of hair out of Bailey's face to get a better view of her and the smile that was creeping on her face. No longer asleep, but just as beautiful, though not as still. She snuggled closer to Cody, who wrapped an arm around her to hold her against him. She sighed in contentment as he began to stoke her hair. It was knotted from a night of tossing and turning, but he still continued to stroke her for as long as time would permit.

Time, however, was fairly generous. It was Saturday, and they had no plans or prior commitments.

They could stay there all day if they wanted. They could fall asleep in each other's arms, and wake up in another hour, another day, another week, another lifetime and they wouldn't even know it.

Sleep. Wake up. Watch her sleep. Wake up. Sleep. Wake up. Watch her sleep. Wake up.

It was a cycle, and like their love, it could never be broken no matter how selfish it all seemed.


	4. Lose Yourself

**A/N:** Another: 'Lets type for ten minutes and see how this goes' story. Takes place during _Rat Tale_. Sort of explains Cody's jerkass behavior during season three :P Sorry for all the drabbles... I promise the next oneshot will be long and have an actual... Plot...

* * *

**Lose Yourself**

How was any of this suppose to be enough?

They had invested so much time into perfecting their relationship. They had done everything together, given everything to each other, and yet it seems like they had done nothing at all. Like they hadn't even gotten a chance to love each other.

Maybe that was the problem.

They had shared so much, and now they shared nothing at all.

It was almost as if they were one, and now looking through the box that contained all of the items he had loaned her, he couldn't even remember giving any of them to her.

Make no mistake though, as he sifted through calculator after calculator. Book after book. Shredded picture after shredded picture. It was all his.

It didn't feel like it though, and when she gave everything to him with that emotionless expression, it seemed like she was just giving him more of herself. Like she was shoving everything amazing and wonderful about herself back in his face.

Because they were so similar.

It had always been one of his favorite parts about their relationship. Dating someone who truly understood him, and could keep up... But now this gift was a curse, because he found every bit of himself in her and every bit of herself in him.

Nothing about this box was helping him. Obviously it hadn't been helping her either or else she wouldn't of returned it. Nothing good came of it anymore.

And that's how Cody found himself standing at the ship's stern, the haunting box gracing his hands. Until it graced the ocean's surface, and eventually its floor.

Maybe if he let go of himself he could let go of Bailey as well.

* * *

_"I can't calculate how to start again."  
Written to Chances by: Athlete  
Music sets the mood. _


	5. Melting

**A/N:** This was suppose to be happy, and written to _Hey There Delilah_... Yea, I'm not sure what happened either... I knew this was going to be bad when I started pulling out the repetition and metaphors... Anyways, It's set in 2013 (Sophomore year in college) and it's from Bailey's POV and in present tense. Yup. Don't worry, I'm going to write some mushy family fics next.

* * *

**Melting**

"Where is it?" I cry out in agony; turning my dorm room upside down in search of my laptop. Why did I lend it to Lena anyways? She's so messy, I should of expected her to lose it in that trash mountain of a desk she has. Next time her computer gets a virus from some stupid gaming site I am _not_ letting her anywhere near my computer.

_Maybe I should invest in a safe for my valuables._

Getting on my knees, I plunge through desk drawers that are stuffed to the brim with paper. I fling the paper aimlessly behind me, until the drawer is as bare as the wood itself. Moving onto the next of many drawers, I don't even direct a gaze at the white, paper mess that covers the floor. I swear, my dorm is starting to look as white as the snow that dusts New Haven at the moment.

_Oh man! It's snowing, I almost forgot! That's going to add quite a bit to my walk. I'm going to be late!_

My hands move frantically through the pile; eyes darting from place to place in the quest for my laptop.

_Buzzzzzzz!_

My head shoots up. What is that?

_Buzzzzzzz!_

Oh... My phone. Did someone really have to call right now? I mean couldn't they of picked a better time? I continue searching; letting the phone continue on until I realize that maybe it's Lena calling about my laptop.

I promptly walk over to my desk, where my phone lays neatly upon it. It's not Lena, it's Cody. I sigh as I press answer, putting the call on speaker phone, I go back to searching through Lena's monster desk.

"Hey Cody. What's up?" I ask.

"Hey Bailey." I hear him come in over the speaker. "I was just calling to see how you were doing?"

"Oh, that's all-" I start off as I pry open the last drawer. I squeal a bit when it finally gives way. For a minute I was thinking I was going to need a crow bar.

"What was that?" The concerned tone in his voice shining through.

"Nothing," I smile as a I open the drawer to see a purple cased laptop nestled perfectly on top. "I just found my laptop that I've been searching twenty minutes for!"

"That's great Bailey... Hey, the thing is that I-"

I cut him off subconsciously as I stuff my laptop into my back pack, getting ready to run a mile across campus in the snow. "Cody I'm sorry, but I really have to go. I have a class that starts in fifteen minutes, and I haven't even left my dorm, and it's snowing like crazy outside. I'll talk to you later, bye." I hang up, and quickly swing open the door.

I rush down the hallway, checking my bag to make sure I didn't forget anything else. I can't afford any more delays if I want to make it to class on time. "Do you want a ride?"

Now that right there stops me dead in my tracks. I pivot to see none other than Cody standing a few feet behind me. I must of walked right past him, and not even noticed. "What are you doing here?" I start toward him; eyes wide with surprise.

It wasn't like it was a normal occurrence for him to show up at my dorm without calling me first; much less this early on a Friday.

"Well, I only have one class today, and that was canceled, so I decided that it would be nice to drive over and spend the weekend with you."

"Oh, well that was really nice of you." I say, leaning up on my tiptoes to kiss his cheek. I pull back to see his beautiful smile, and it's just now that I realize that it was the first smile either of us had displayed since seeing each other again.

Fighting the urge to frown, I loop my arm through Cody's, and start down the hallway toward the exit. "So were you _really_ going to drive me to my class, or were you just trying to get my attention?" I smile playfully at him.

"Well, I couldn't think of any other way to get you to notice me at the moment."

I purse my lips at this as we leave the warmth of the building, and start across the snowy courtyard toward the parking lot. "Sorry about that... I just really have to get to class."

"Oh, I know." He reasons as we approach his car; he opens the passenger door for me to climb in. "Trust me, if the situation were reversed I would of done the same thing."

"Right..." I mumble to myself as Cody climbs in on the driver's side, and starts the ignition. As we wait for the engine to warm up it's unusually silent, especially for Cody's standards. Most of the time, I can never get even a syllable in the first half hour or so when we get to see each other.

"Is everything alright?" I start awkwardly, breaking the strange silence.

"Huh?" He must of been zoning out, another unusual occurrence. Something is on his mind, and he better not try to hide it. "Yea, everything is fine."

"So there is no reason why you came here to see me?" I press further.

"My reason is that I wanted to see you." He smiles weakly as he reaches out to tuck a strand of hair behind my ear. His hand lingers against my cheek for a second, but he quickly retracts it.

However, I've always been more agile than him, and it doesn't take much effort to catch his hand in mine and hold it. His hands are ice cold, however, mine are probably just as frigid. "That's always your reason, but this time you seem sad about it."

He exhales deeply, his face softening to match mine. His eyes, vacant before, are now starting to let his true emotions show. He looked more than sad. "Bailey, do you remember the last time we saw each other."

"Thanksgiving." I say confidently. "When I stayed with you and your family in Boston over break." I'm not sure what he is trying to get at.

"What month is it now?" He asks slowly. It's almost like he's afraid to hurt me, or maybe he is just afraid, or something completely different. I don't know anymore.

"March, Silly." I try a weak smile to lighten the heavy mood, but it falters, and I give up.

"Bailey, we haven't seen each other in four months. It's not like I'm going to school half way across the country; I'm at Penn State and you're here. I mean, _how_ did this happen?"

"It hasn't been that long, has it?" I count the months over and over in my head.

_December, January, February, March. December, January, February, March. That can't be right. It doesn't even feel like its been a month, much less four._

"Yea, it has, and we didn't even realize it." He lets go of my hands, and sinks back into his seat.

"I-I..." I start off, but I'm not sure what to say. "I don't know anymore." I sigh, running a hand back through my hair, resisting the urge to rip it all out. _This is so frustrating!_ What are we suppose to do, or say, or think? I just don't know anymore.

He must think so too, because he just sits there silently staring out into, what was expected to be, the last snow of the season, melting to slush. He seems so far away, but then again, I suppose I do too.

When did distance become more than a physical aspect of our relationship?

"I should get you to class now." He broke the silence, pulling out of the parking space, starting toward the lecture hall.

Within minutes we are in front of the building, and I get out to leave, but before, I turn back to Cody. "Will you be here when I get back?"

His eyes widen, and for the first time in minutes I'm filled with an ounce of reassurance. "Of corse I will be. We have to talk about this more."

I look down, sweeping my foot against the slushy sidewalk, and nod in agreement. I'm not sure if a talk will be enough to fix us this time, but I guess all we can do is try.

Time is nothing, I mean, we could of gone years without seeing each other as long as we were aware of our love, but we have fallen asleep. We moved on with school, and friends, and family on our own; drifting into a dream world of our on creation. With each day our lives became more and more individualized until the day the are completely separate. I don't want to be alone though. I know it's easier, especially with him being so far away, but I don't want this.

"I love you." I remind him.

"I love you too." He reminds me.

Hopefully, it's enough for us not to melt away.


	6. The Annoying Author's Note

**A/N:** Hi! I know everyone hates authors notes, blah, blah, blah... **BUT YOU HAVE TO READ THIS! **

Ok, so earlier on I think I mentioned that though all these stories are oneshots, they all take place in the same... world. What I mean is that none of these oneshots will contradict themselves. They are just like one jumbled out of place story. Sort of. With this being said, I think it's time I introduce you to Cody and Bailey's children!

The oldest is Laurel, who is a girl if you couldn't tell. Next is Max, who is a boy, and is two years younger than Laurel. The youngest is Annie, who is another girl (Because I really had to clarify it), and she is six years younger than Laurel.

So if Laurel was 18, then Max would be 16, and Annie would be 12. Got it?

They are the only kids Cody and Bailey will have, and they are the only kids that I will be using in this collection.

So no fear of Laurel, Max, and Annie being in one oneshot, and then Betty Stu and Codykins Jr. being in a different one.

...I hope I didn't just confuse everyone on planet Earth with this...


	7. I'm Sorry Too

**A/N:** Look at chapter 6 (if you haven't already) before reading! I said I was going to write a family fic next, and for once I kept my promise. I was planning on doing some cute pumpkin carving stuff, but Taylor Swift's new album came out and a particular song really inspired me to do a different family fic. I was also inspired by _MyMagicalPenGirl's_ interpretation of Cody and Bailey in _A Suite Ever After_... SO BLAME HER!

* * *

**I'm Sorry Too**

"I bet we could build a life size replica of the Empire State Building with all these red solo cups." Max mumbled into the dead air of the sizable living room.

"Oh, shut up." His annoyed older sister, Laurel, retorted back at him. She stuffed fistfuls of garbage into a trash bag as she rounded war zone of a room. Though she had never dared to host a party before that night, it would be a lie to say she hadn't expected all of this. "You're probably the reason for half of these." She replied in a bitter defense that was weak to punch.

"Not half." He confirmed sarcastically, knowing very well that Laurel had threatened to show the entire upperclassmen his baby pictures if he had so much as of made an appearance at the party. "_Maybe_ a third though." He commented lightly, before the weight of the alcohol laced air started to bare back down on their shoulders. Max exhaled before braving on through the awkward silence. "This _is_ technically your fault you know."

"Is not!" She spat back, her defensive nature kicking in.

"Is too!" He scoffed back.

She scrunched her face, angry that she could not deny the truth. The party was her entire reckless idea, and now she was paying for it.

Really. She was paying Max 50 dollars to help her clean up the mess.

"Well, if you're just going to complain then leave!" She yelled shamelessly at her brother, the only other living occupant in the house that Sunday morning.

"Pay up." He easily dropped his trash bag, holding out his up turned palm expectingly.

He mouth dropped in astonishment. "No way! We only got to the living room! We still have to do the dining room and the kitchen and the sun room."

"Ok then, 25. The living room is the largest room in the house after all."

She exhaled in defeat. If she had argued a while long then maybe she could of gotten him to lower his price or make him give up all together, but today she wasn't in the mood to put up with her troublesome brother. "Whatever." Laurel mumbled as she walked over to snatch her purse off the kitchen counter, pulling out the money and shoving it toward her brother. "Now get out of here."

"Sweet." He commented to himself as he counted the plenty of five dollar bills, walking down the adjacent hallway toward his bedroom to sleep the day away.

Rather then going back to aimlessly filling bags of trash, Laurel decided that, after a long night, it was time to fill her stomach.

Slouching over to the fridge, she swung open the stainless steel door, and pulled out a carton of milk. She slammed the door shut, only to be met with her mess of an appearance being reflected back at her in the door.

Normally it would of been like a slap in the face, but at the moment she didn't care to wipe away the faded red lip stick or comb her fingers through her ratty blonde hair. All she cared for was her glass of milk and the chocolate cake she was cutting.

Just as she plopped her breakfast onto a plate, the phone began to ring throughout the house. Closing up the tubberware containing the cake and putting the milk back into the fridge, she let the ring echo throughout the massive house.

She had just taken a seat at the breakfast counter, plunging into the rich cake, when the answering machine went off.

_"Max? Laurel? Are you there? I know it's nine in the morning, but please pick up if your there."_ The familiar voice of her loving mother played through over the speaker. Laurel continued indulging in her cake, swinging her legs lightly.

She could hear her mother sigh over the phone. _"Well, we were just calling to see how you two were holding up there on your own. We also just wanted to remind you that if you needed anything you can always call Uncle Zack and Aunt London, and that there is extra money incase you need it on top the the kitchen cabinets in that purple jar and..."_

_"Can I talk to to them?"_ The distant voice, the Laurel could distinguish as her father, was heard in the background.

_"It's just a message."_ She could hear her mother clarify to her father.

_"Anyways,"_ She spoke once again to Laurel. _"Remember to pick up Annie from her sleep over at one, and also, Aunt London and Uncle Zack are going to take you three out to dinner tonight since we can't now that the conference was extended, and we can't leave yet."_

Her tone softened as she came to the end of her lengthy message. _"And Laurel, we are really that sorry we couldn't make it home today for your birthday. Just know that we both love you very much, and will be home in two days to celebrate."_

She could hear muffling as Bailey passed the phone over to Cody. _"Max, Annie, Laurel, we miss you so much. Laurel, I promise we are going to do something a hundred times better than what we had originally planned today. Have a wonderful 17th birthday, Sweetie. I love you, and I'm sorry we couldn't make it home today." _The answering machine concluded the message with a short beep, leaving the house silent once more.

"Yeah," Laurel whispered to herself, finishing off the last of her birthday cake. "I'm sorry too."

* * *

_"You should of been there, you should of burst through the door, with that 'Baby, I'm right here' smile,_  
_And it would of felt like, a million shining stars that just aligned,_  
_And I would of been so happy..."_  
_~The Moment I Knew, Taylor Swift_


	8. The Science of Reindeer

**A/N:** Merry Christmas everyone! Hope you enjoy this Cailey family-fic fluff!

* * *

**The Science of Reindeer**

She had read the page over five times, but no matter how hard she tried to wish the words away, they were still printed for her eyes to see. Of corse she was only six, so there was a possibility she was missing something, but by the tenth re-read she was sullenly sure that what she saw was the truth. She had to be sure of it though, so naturally she turned to her parents for confirmation.

Jumping off the couch, she ran through a maze of Christmas decorations to make it into the kitchen. There her mother was chatting with her father, who was preparing the Christmas Eve turkey for dinner.

Hearing the soft patter of feet, Cody and Bailey turned to see their youngest racing up to them with a book in her tiny hands.

"Annie," Bailey smiled, reaching down to pick her up, sitting her on her lap at the kitchen table. "What do you have there?"

"The book Daddy gave to me about the planets last month." She muttered as Bailey started flipping through the pages filled with pictures of stars and planets.

"Do you like it?" Cody asked from behind the counter, wiping off his hands on a rag before joining his wife and daughter at the table.

"Yes, It's really pretty and interesting." She braided a strand of hair in hesitation. "But there was this page that talked about gravity."

"And?" Bailey urged Annie to go on, knowing there was something clearly bothering her.

"Well, if that is true, then how do Santa's reindeer fly?" She let out a breath she hadn't even known she had held.

Cody and Bailey exchanged a worried glance. This was the first sign of objection to Santa Claus Annie had shown. While their oldest, Laurel, had finally forced it out of them last winter that Santa was a mere myth, they had managed to successfully keep their other two children in the dark. Neither had expected Annie to question the logic behind Santa Claus at such a young age. But she was, and it was time to do damage control.

"Well, reindeer are a very special exception to that rule." Cody assured her as he panicked on the inside.

"But the book said that gravity impacts everything on Earth." She protested, wiggling in her mother's arms to point at the paragraph that referenced the fact.

"Well, birds can fly, so why do you think reindeer can't?" Bailey tried, closing the book to prevent any further citations.

Annie turned her head, looking up at her mother as if she were locked up in a psychiatric ward. "Because reindeer don't have wings, so it's impossible for them to fly!" Bailey bit her lip, unsure of what to argue next.

Obviously, Cody was unsure of what to say as well, and as a resulted, started making up nonsense lies. "Well, Santa's reindeer do have wings." He countered, surprisingly confident.

Annie's head whipped around at Cody, meeting him with wide eyes not unlike her mother's at the moment. Silently, Bailey gave Cody a look that said, _Are you insane! What are you doing?!_ Annie must have been thinking the same thing. "Daddy, that's crazy, reindeer don't have wings."

"Well, have you ever seen one of Santa's reindeer?" He raised an eyebrow at his curious daughter.

"No..." She pouted. "But you haven't either!"

"Oh, yes I have!"

Annie's eyes were bulging out of their sockets at this point. "You have?"

"Yes, and I can remember it just like it was yesterday..." Cody trailed off, reminiscing over a nonexistent memory.

"Oh, no." Bailey mumbled to herself.

"What?" Annie eagerly asked her mother.

Tensing a little, she quickly covered herself. "Oh, yes! I remember you telling me that story! You know, maybe Annie would like to hear it while I go check on the turkey." She stated, and before Cody could even protest her leaving, Bailey was already handing Annie off to him.

His eyes pleaded to her, but all she could muster was a smirk in return. He got himself into this, not only with the book, but with his radical lie, and now he was going to get himself out. "Well," He started "It was when I was your age, and Grandma, Uncle Zack, and I were living in Seattle. Your Uncle and I wanted to stay up and wait for Santa Claus, but he was asleep before nine." Annie giggled at this.

Cody smiled as he continued on. "But I wasn't going to give in that easily. I was planning on staying up all night, but luckily I didn't have to because around midnight I heard a bang on the roof, and I rushed outside to see what it was. Sure enough, I saw Santa's sleigh on our little roof. He was rummaging through his big, red bag of toys, and pulling out a dozen wrapped gifts before sliding down the chimney."

At this point Annie was gazing at her father in amazement, all reservations disappearing completely. "Within seconds he was back up on the roof, and hopping into his sleigh, but before he took off I saw him look down at me, and wave jollily, and I waved back with the biggest smile on my face. Then he just took off, and I had to blink just to see if I was imagining things, but sure enough I could see Santa's sleigh being pulled by reindeer with flapping wings." He finished off with a twinkle in his eyes as if it were a true childhood memory filling him up with nostalgia.

From there Annie bombarded him questions about what the reindeer looked like, and what he did after that, and if he ever saw Santa again. He happily answered them until Bailey called the two, along with Max and Laurel, to dinner.

Later that evening when all the kids were asleep, dreaming about Christmas morning, Bailey asked Cody about his little story. "I thought that you would have cracked under that kind of pressure. You usually do." She playfully elbowed him.

"Well, that's because most of it was true."

"What?" She leaned forward to look at him in disbelief.

"When I was little I thought I saw Santa Claus. I mean, of corse I didn't think that the reindeer had wings so that was a lie, but for the longest time I thought I saw him up on our roof that Christmas night..." He smiled.

"I bet Zack was jealous when you told him about it the next morning." She laughed knowingly.

"I never told anyone till tonight actually." He recounted.

"Really? Why not?" She questioned intriguingly.

"I thought that Zack was going to make fun of me, and call me a liar. The entire reason we were staying up in the first place was to prove to everyone that Santa was real, and it was sort of our last hope when it came to believing. That if we stayed up all night, and Santa never came then we would know he was a myth."

"So Zack stopped believing in Santa that night, but you didn't?" She snuggled closer to him.

"Yea, and because of that, those next few Christmases always seemed like more fun to me than to Zack."

"It's all apart of the Christmas spirit." Bailey sighed tiredly, laying her head against Cody's chest. "Believing."

"What about you?" He questioned, combing his fingers through her hair absently. She hummed in response. "When did you stop believing?" He specified.

"Not for a while. I remember once I punched a kid in the gut for saying Santa wasn't real." She stifled out a laugh at the memory, which Cody met with one of his own. Soon the noise settled down into a comfortable silence between the married couple. Finally, Bailey spoke up with a question that had prodded at her for a while now. "So what do you think you really that night?"

"I don't know." The wrinkled his forehead in thought.

"Maybe it really was Santa." She mused jokingly at the silly thought. It couldn't have been. Believing that it was at such an age would be absurd. Of corse, there would always be apart of her that wished such a magical thing existed.

She looked up at him to see a small smile on his face. He leaned in to gently kiss her lips before pulling back to whisper against them. "Maybe it was."


End file.
